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Table by Peter Glass

Inlaid with more than thirty thousand pieces of wood, this tilt-top center table was created by German immigrant Peter Glass. As a farmer in Wisconsin, Glass applied his native training as a marquetry craftsman to make award-winning furniture in his spare time. The elaborate octagonal tabletop combines traditional European designs with patriotic American motifs, including portraits of U.S. military generals. In eight oval plaques encircling the piece, Glass also portrayed himself: "Peter/Glass/Maker/Town/Scott

Comments

Annie Lane,
Peter Glass is my 3rd great grandfather and, the table and sewing box were presented to the Lincoln family after his death and there is a letter from his son accepting the gifts and thanking Peter among our family's genealogy records. I remember seeing this table one display at the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of the Chipstone collection. My grandmother had one of his boxes,

"http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028083/1865-03-17/ed-1/seq-1/Hi! I was trying to research this table- and am pretty psyched to see it here. VERY cool newspaper story from March, 1865 on Peter's table? Bottom, center. He was making it as a present for the President and Mrs. Lincoln, story is March, 1865. It must be the same table? Given how long it took, creating this caliber work, guessing the assassination shocked Mr. Glass and he kept his gift.I belong to a history forum, Civil War Talk. Mary Todd has been a favorite topic of mine for five years now- and Peter's Wisconsin gift will be a fascinating, if sad piece of Lincoln/Wisconsin history.Hope this is of interest to your museum.Annie LaneHalifax, PA( JPK Huson 1863 )"

"Clockwise from top left the portraits are: Benjamin F. Butler, John Ellis Wool, Zachary Taylor and George Washington."

National Museum of American History

Mon, 2013-07-22 12:06

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